Online travel brand hijacking ‘out of control’
Increasing numbers of UK travel companies are having their brand names hijacked by rivals in pay-for-click advertising.
A survey by e-commerce firm Nucleus into online travel companies’ use of pay-per-click to intercept search engine enquiries for their competitors confirmed a “dramatic escalation” in brand interception since last year.
The results of the poll of 124 online operators agents and travel portals in May found a “staggering” 245% rise in cases of brand interception.
Almost 60% of those polled are now intercepted by others, including direct competitors, and 23% actively intercept their rivals.
But only 11% have taken measures to protection themselves from brand interception – and more than half of these ‘protected’ companies actually intercept others.
Nucleus managing director Peter Matthews said: “The results go to show that brand interception is out of control in the online travel industry.
“More alarming still is to find that some of the most web savvy brands, who know enough to protect themselves from this practise, are some of the biggest interceptors of all.”
Nick Baker, a trade mark attorney with Nucleus-owned Hallmark-ip, said: “It’s time that trade mark law caught up with current internet practise. We anticipate more cases to test whether this activity infringes trade marks or not and look forward to a clear ruling.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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